Sunday, November 22, 2009

Last year at Thanksgiving I discovered the blog world and it put me in a craft sort of mood. Last Christmas I attempted to paint ornaments, and they turned out OK, but it's so obvious I'm a novice. Not like so many other ladies whose blogs I look at each week. So here it is again, the holidays are upon us and I'm really loving all the great holiday craft blog posts. I took on one that Traci assured her readers was easy. Hers are adorable and I couldn't wait to try them out.

Wrapping paper coasters. I'm happy with the way mine turned out!

I first tried out the monogram coasters, but David wasn't that excited. He got the tiles and cork and was interested in this project. But my monograms weren't all that cute. I think a large monogram stamp might work out better. Although I might have done something wrong because Traci's were cute. Our paper was too white and the contrast with the white tile just didn't work for David.

So, after church I went in search of Christmas napkins like those coasters I've seen online, when David came up with an ingenious thought - why not use wrapping paper instead of napkins? Wow - I have (tons of) wrapping paper. It's worth a shot. What a GREAT idea - it worked very, very well.

I first used my scrapbooking cutter to cut images that would fit on the 4x4 tiles. This cutter has come in handy over the years. I find so many uses for it.

Once I assembled my tools, the tiles were very easy to assemble.

I put a layer of Mod Podge on the tiles and then placed a wrapping paper image in the center. Another coat of Mod Podge and 30 minutes or so to dry.

It's amazing when they dry. I then take the time to try to flatten any wrinkles. I think some wrinkles give them character though. Mod Podge is pretty cool.

Final steps: hot glue cork to the bottom of the tiles and spray well with adhesive. David found these cork cut-outs at Hobby Lobby and they worked really well. Much easier than having to cut cork the right size. I made the mistake of spraying the first set of coasters with the adhesive spray IN THE KITCHEN. An hour and a headache later, the smell finally cleared. I'll be doing the others outside.

Tie them up with cute ribbon and they are ready for a great hostess gift. I'm just so pleased with the fact that I could do these!

your coasters turned out great. I actually went into the basement a couple of weeks ago looking for wrapping paper to do this exact same thing. I even brought some up and started cutting it. But it didn't look very pretty. Yours look good cause the items fit nicely on the tile. Mine didn't, so I used some Christmas napkins instead. Maybe I'll be on the lookout for some really cute wrapping paper after Christmas on clearance!thanks for sharing!gailHappy Thanksgiving!

Bonnie,I love the way your coasters turned out! I never thought of using wrapping paper! What a great idea! You did a great job. I am sorry the monogrammed tiles didn't turn out as well. But "kuddos" for trying. Thanks for linking to my blog as well! Many blessings to you and your sweet family this Christmas season,Traci